The 2009 Merlot is a gorgeous, fleshy wine laced with expressive dark red berries, mocha, spices and licorice. It shows lovely balance and a juicy, approachable personality best suited for drinking over the next few years. The intensity of the fruit fleshes out beautifully on the expansive finish. Winemaker Marcia Monahan added 2% Carmenere to the blend to give the wine additional mid-palate depth, which certainly seems to have worked. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2017.

The 2010 Pinot Noir Russian River Valley is a sexy, medium-bodied Pinot that shows the elegance of the year. Freshly cut flowers, spices, roses and raspberries emerge from the glass. This is an especially nuanced, feminine style. The juiciness and sweetness of the fruit fleshes out nicely with time in the glass. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2017.

The 2009 Chardonnay Los Carneros is a beautiful, complete wine. Layers of apricot, peach, mint and French oak are woven together in this impeccable, gracious wine. Everything is in the right place. The fruit builds nicely towards the soft, enveloping finish. This is another striking wine from La Crema. The Carneros bottling is fermented in barrel, with lees stirring once a month and full malolactic fermentation. It is the most complete and well-balanced of the mid-level 2009 Chardonnays. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2016.

The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Reserve explodes from the glass with black fruit, grilled herbs, licorice, smoke and tar. The Grand Reserve reveals tons of energy and exceptional overall balance. In 2009 the blend is 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petit Verdot, 3% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc, all from the Alexander Mountain Estate Vineyard. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2016.

The 2010 Viognier Alisos Hills is beautiful, round and impeccably balanced. This is a fairly restrained style for Viognier in the bouquet. It is the wine's texture, depth and polished finish that stand out most. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2016.

The 2009 Pinot Noir Seven's Bench Vineyard is a big, rich wine endowed with generous fruit and an open, radiant personality. It shows the exuberance of the 777 and 667 clones planted on clay soils. Subtle earthy notes, black cherries and licorice develop in the glass, adding complexity. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2016.

The 2010 Zinfandel Russian River Valley is a big, exuberant wine bursting with dark black fruit, spices, mint and tobacco. This luscious Zinfandel is an excellent choice for drinking over the next few years. High-toned floral notes add lift and freshness on the finish. I especially like the way the wine turns more elegant and finessed with time in the glass. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2017.

The 2010 Sauvignon Blanc is a pretty, well-articulated wine that shows the greener, grassier side of Sauvignon. Bright citrus, grapefruit, lime, mint and white flowers emerge from the glass in this focused, energetic Sauvignon. The 2010 was mostly aged in steel, although a small percentage of the wine was aged in foudres. This is a terrific effort from Matanzas Creek. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2014.

The 2010 Chardonnay Sonoma County is a deep, expressive wine laced with apricot, pears, flowers and spices. The Chardonnay is fermented in barrels (36% new), yet the wine shows considerable freshness, vivacity and energy. Clean, saline notes round out the mineral-drenched finish. This is a fabulous effort for a wine with a production of 5,400 cases. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2016.

The 2010 Chardonnay Bennett Valley shows the richness and weight of the Wente clone that makes up the majority of the blend. Dried apricots, flowers, spices and tangerine wrap around the palate in this rich, textured Chardonnay. A powerful, authoritative finish rounds things out in style. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2016.

The 2009 Pinot Noir Los Carneros is big, voluptuous and full-bodied. The wine blossoms on the palate with an extroverted, juicy expression of fruit. Cola, spices, licorice and mint add complexity on the deep, textured finish. As good as this is, there is an element of heaviness on the mid-palate that attenuates the finish. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2017.

The 2010 Chardonnay Russian River Valley shows lovely depth, focus and delineation. Bright flowers, citrus, spices and minerals are woven together nicely in this energetic, layered Chardonnay. The Russian River bottling is fermented in barrel, with full malolactic fermentation. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2016.

The 2009 Red Wine Trace Ridge is an attractive wine, but it doesn't quite offer the same visceral thrill of Kendall-Jackson's top 100% Cabernets. Hints of mint, crushed flowers and licorice add a measure of complexity on the finish. The blend is 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot and 6% Petit Verdot from Kellogg Vineyard in Knights Valley. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2021.

The 2010 Chardonnay Camelot Highlands is a gorgeous wine layered with intense notes of minerality that frame dried apricots, wild herbs, dried flowers and orange zest. The delineation and nuance here is superb. Subtle hints from the oak linger on the finish. Estate owned vineyards in Santa Maria and Santa Barbara supply the fruit. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2016.

The 2009 Pinot Noir Hailey's Block is a silky, mid-weight wine laced with sweet red berries, flowers, licorice and mint. This is a fairly restrained, cold-weather style for the Russian River built on linearity, energy and focus. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2016.

The 2010 Zinfandel Fannuchi-Wood Road Vineyard is one of the more ethereal, mid-weight Zinfandels within the context of this grape. Sleek, silky tannins frame an expressive core of fruit in this vibrant, beautifully delineated Zinfandel. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2018.

The 2010 Chardonnay Stone Cote Vineyard, from a block in the Durell Vineyard, caresses the palate with dried apricots, wild flowers, honey, tangerine and spices. It shows lovely roundness and finesse through to the creamy, inviting finish. This is a fairly lush, fruit-driven style of Chardonnay. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2016.

The 2010 Pinot Noir is an attractive wine laced with sweet red fruit, flowers, licorice, mint and spices. Sweet floral notes reappear on the finish, adding lift and brightness. This mid-weight, feminine Pinot is best suited for drinking over the next 1-3 years. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2015.

The 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon is a burly wine loaded with dark red fruit, mint, flowers, spices and licorice. It reveals good depth and concentration, along with a medium-bodied personality best suited for near and mid-term drinking. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2016.

The 2010 Pinot Noir Arroyo Seco comes across as firm, dark and tightly wound. The wine's structure is impressive, but I don't quite find the level of elegance here that is typical in so many of the new releases from La Crema. This is the first vintage for the Arroyo Seco, and this bottling seems to be a work in progress at this stage. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2017.

The 2010 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast is an attractive, mid-weight wine laced with sweet red cherries, herbs, mint and dried flowers. Bright floral notes reappear on the finish, giving the wine additional lift. This is an amazing value and a remarkable level of quality considering there are 210,000 cases of this wine. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2016.

The 2009 Pinot Noir Nine Barrel is a silky, perfumed wine. Sweet floral and spiced notes are woven throughout the dark fruit in this layered, racy Pinot. Ultimately the Nine Barrel is a fairly straightforward Pinot whose charms are best enjoyed over the next few years. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2017.

The 2010 Pinot Noir Los Robles, from a vineyard in Santa Barbara, emerges from the glass with black cherries, earthiness, spices and tar. Today it comes across as a bit heavy-handed...Anticipated maturity: 2012-2015.

The 2009 Merlot Grand Reserve is a dark, full-bodied wine loaded with black cherries, plums, chocolate, spices and licorice. This is a far from easygoing Merlot. There is plenty of underlying structure to balance the fruit. The 2009 Grand Reserve has more then enough character to stand up to the heartiest of cuisines. A dollop of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon was added in the final blend. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2016.

The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Vintner's Reserve is another terrific wine in the Vintner's Reserve series. Expressive red berries, herbs, flowers and spices are some of the notes that flesh out in the glass in this polished Cabernet. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2015.